Ontario Scraps All Eight OINP Streams: What U.S.-Based Employers and Foreign Nationals Should Know About the New Workforce Priority Stream

Effective June 26, 2026, Ontario retired all eight streams of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and replaced them with a single Workforce Priority Stream. The new system sorts applicants into three tracks: skilled workers in TEER 0–3 occupations with a permanent job offer, essential workers in TEER 4–5 roles, and a standalone pathway for self-employed physicians who do not need a job offer at all. Employers face new revenue thresholds to sponsor candidates — $1 million in annual gross revenue in the Greater Toronto Area, $500,000 outside it — and the Expression of Interest portal remains closed until later this summer, with profiles under the retired streams set to be cancelled. Ontario has also signaled a second phase that could add a healthcare stream, an exceptional talent category, and a reworked entrepreneur pathway. For anyone weighing Canadian options alongside U.S. immigration strategies, this restructuring changes the calculus. Our Canadian affiliate breaks down the full details, including physician eligibility rules and what happens to applications already in progress.